Strange Love
by EruditeRavenclawShadowhunter
Summary: Just when life seemed like it was working out, it crashes and burns. Jace cheats on Clary so she runs away to a different institute across the ocean. What will she find there? What will change? One thing is for certain. She will find out that love can be very strange when it wants to be.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, go easy on me because this is only my second fanfic. The Mortal Instruments do not belong to me. Warning: I am planning to have some plot twists in here. Classic Jace cheats on Clary fic, but I'm going to prewrite mist of it so it WILL get past five chapters, unlike the others. Now, let's get started.**

 _ **Clary's POV**_

I walk into the institute, just coming back from my mom's and Luke's place. It has been six months since we have defeated Sebastian. In my opinion, things have been going well. Luke and my mom are married. Simon is always out with Izzy. Magnus seems okay with Alec. Alec has become far friendlier to me than when we first met. Plus, Jace and I couldn't be better.

When I first walk in, I don't see anyone, which is not unusual, for everybody is usually out and about. I walk into the kitchen where I see Alec.

"Hey, have you seen Jace," I ask.

He gestures towards the rooms. "I believe he is in his room. If not, check the training room."

I smile at him. "Thanks."

I run off towards his room. I'm about to knock when I hear a female voice coming from it.

"Wait," she says. "Are you confident she won't find out?"

The next voice I hear shocks me.

"Kaelie, if there is anything I learned from Clary by the last year or two, is that she is very loyal. Trust me, she wouldn't think I would be doing this," says Jace.

I hear her sigh. "Do it."

I will never forget what I hear next. Moaning, the bed rocking, their voices filled with lust.

Only knowing I had to leave, I bolt. Straight into Alec.

"Woah, you must be more careful Clary. We wouldn't want you to run into demons now would we?" he says, joking.

Instead of replying, I start sobbing. Instantly, his arms wrap around me and pulls me against him. I cry into his shoulder while he pulls me into his room. We sit on his bed for minutes, doing nothing except for me crying. When I start to calm down he whispers.

"What happened?"

I shake my head. "I don't even fully understand it yet. I was outside Jace's bedroom when I heard voices coming from it. Jace was-is cheating on me. He's having sex with another girl as we speak," I mutter the last part before Alec gets up. Before he opens the door, I run to block it. "No, I don't want him to know yet. I don't want anything else happening," I rush.

"He cheated on you, Clary!" His voice is rising.

"Please, Alec," I beg.

He resents. "Fine, just head to your room and give yourself a couple minutes to calm down. We can talk about it later. _All_ of us."

I nod and leave his room. Once I enter mine, I close the door. I sit on my bed for a few minutes before I head to my closet and start packing. I can't stay here any longer. I pack most of my belongings into one suitcase and rest my hand on the doorknob. Before I open the door, I turn back. Everybody would be perplexed if I left without telling them. Well, everybody but Alec, though he would still want a good explanation.

I write a letter for everybody I could think of. Alec, Izzy, Simon, Magnus, Mom, Luke, even Jace. Jace's I made short and blunt, but I put a short explanation in most of them. I tell Alec to try and delay them at least from looking for me. I wrote that I loved them and that they should not look for me. I sealed all of them and put them neatly on the bed.

Then, I snuck into the hall and peeked into Alec's room. He is no longer in there, good. I gently placed his letter on his pillow and silently thank him for being there.

Once I returned to my room, I grabbed my bag and used a portal room. I aim for the London institute. I've never traveled this far by rune. In Sebastian's house, sure, but by rune I ended up outside of Idris last time. I take a deep breath and walk through.

I find myself on the steps of the London Institute. I slowly walk up and knock on the door. A dark brown haired girl about my age opens it. Immediately, she gasps.

"Are you Clary Morgenstern?" she asks.

I'm surprised. "Yes, how did you know?"

"You are like a celebrity in the shadow world!"

"Oh, is there like a place I can stay for a while? I am kind of in a situation."

"Of course, you can stay here as long as you like." She extends her hand. "I'm Angelina."

I shake it. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Then I follow her into the institute, not knowing what is going to happen.

The institute looks bigger than the New York one. We walk down some halls, and I am assuming we are heading towards an office. We turn a corner and I immediately crash into something hard. I fall onto the floor and look up. Apparently I just ran into someone my age. He has messed up brown hair, but he does not look happy right now.

"Hey! You might have to watch where you are going," he says. He looks at me and does a double take. "Who are you anyways?"

I roll my eyes and stand up. "I am Clarissa Fairchild, Morgenstern, whatever you want to call me."

The next look made me suppress a laugh. He looks like he just got slapped in the face. "Oh, wow. Uh. I'm sorry about that. I am Nathaniel but you can call me Nathan."

This time I laugh. "It's okay. You can call me Clary."

Angelina pulls me along the hall, keeping me on track. Once we arrive at the office I see a tall woman standing, hunched over the desk. Her straight, blonde hair blocks most of her face from sight and her eyes are focus. Angelina clears her throat and she looks up. Recognizing me almost instantly she walks around the desk.

"Welcome to the London Institute. I am Nicolette. I run this place. You, correct me if I am wrong, are Clarissa Morgenstern."

"Yes I am, but I prefer Clary. I came from the New York Institute."

She nods. "Well, you can stay as long as you need."

"Thank you. I am planning to stay for a while."

She gestures towards a chair and then sits behind her desk. "What brings you here if I may ask?"

I take a deep breath. Should I tell her? "Let's just say I'm hiding from something, and I hear that this institute is very well hidden, even if it is in a very popular city."

"What are you hiding from?" she asks.

"It might be easier to tell everybody at once," I say, not ready to tell anyone yet.

She stands up, and I follow. "I understand. Angelina will show you to your room."

We walk towards the door and into the hallway where Angelina is. I didn't even notice that she left the room.

We walk down one of the many corridors and she points to a door.

"This is my room, so if you need me come here."

Three doors down is my room. I walk in and collapse onto my new bed. Everything has happened so fast. I don't even know how to comprehend anything anymore.

A couple days ago I would have spilled everything to Simon or Izzy, or even Alec. Magnus would have comforted me. Now, I am all alone. Here though, I can start over. There are not any bad memories here. I can just start anew and have an actual life here. Sure, I will miss my friends, but I will make new ones here. I ponder over this new concept as I drift off to sleep.

 **Again, second fic ever made. I don't really know what I'm going to do for this one so… Let's all hope it turns out good.**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm going to attempt to do 1,500 words per chapter starting now. I don't know how I'm going to do it but I'll try. I'm also going to do another chapter before I skip the years because, I feel like it would help with introductions more. Thank you for all of the reviews. Keep them coming. They seriously encourage me to update sooner.**

"Clary. Clary."

I open my eyes and immediately sit up. Where am I? Oh….

"Nicolette told me not to wake you up, but I thought you would prefer meeting everybody at dinner. Unless you want to go back to sleep, that's fine," says Angelina.

I shake my head. "No, no. You are right. I want to go down there. I can't live in a building full of strangers anyways."

She helps me up and I quickly brush my hair. I don't want to go down there looking like a mess.

We both walk into the main dining, me trailing behind Angelina.

"Hey, Angel, you are late. I would expect you to be early like usual," calls someone.

I peek around Angelina to see it is Nathan. I glance around the table. There are three guys at the table and Nicolette.

"I was getting the new addition to our family," replies Angelina.

Someone stands up. "Wait. What new addition?"

"Thomas, you idiot. You hadn't heard we have a new person."

I walk out from behind of Angelina.

I wave slightly. "Hi. I'm Clary. I came here from the New York Institute."

I look at Thomas, who is blonde with green eyes. He looks pretty built. Actually, he looks pretty hot. Like, Jace hot.

I look at the other one. He catches me looking and walks over. He has black hair and piercing blue eyes.

"Hey. I'm Lucas. Parabatai of Nathan."

I look over at Thomas. He gets up too. "I'm Thomas Stormheart. Nicolette is my mom. That's pretty much it."

I roll my eyes. At least I will have a lot of time to get to know these people. I give Angelina a questioning glance and she drags me to one of the chairs next to her. I laugh and sit down.

We don't get far into the meal before I start getting questions.

"So, how did you get here?" asks Lucas.

"A portal rune," I say, as if it is the most obvious thing in the world.

Apparently Thomas didn't think the same thing. "I'm sorry. A portal what now?"

Ahhh. I forgot. The runes haven't gotten to everybody yet. "Long story short. I can create certain runes. I made the portal rune about a year ago."

Nathan looks impressed. "With that statement, welcome to the team." I smile.

"Okay. How about this one? Why did you come here?" asks Thomas.

Just the question I wanted. Not. "You've heard of me right?" I ask. I get nods from that. "So, you have heard of Jace Wayland/ Morgenstern/ Lightwood/ Herondale right?" More nods. "He was my boyfriend and I thought we were really close. I thought we were in love actually. I loved him. I loved all of them in my own way. They were all fantastic." I stop. How can I go on?

Angelina whispers, "You don't have to tell us right now."

I continue. "But today, I found my boyfriend cheating on me. I heard him cheating through his door. Then I ran, packed, and jumped into a portal and ended up here."

Lucas whispers, "I'm so sorry."

I excuse myself from dinner and head back to my room. It was an interesting first day here, and I don't think I need any more excitement.

The knocking on the door pulls me out of my thoughts. I open it to find Thomas waiting at the other side.

"Hey," I say.

"Hey."

Well, this is awkward.

"Look, I'm sorry about how we started off," he starts.

"No, no, it's fine. I'm actually used to it by now. The speaking whatever is on your mind. You would be surprised about what happens in New York."

"Okay," he smiles, "what?"

"Well, first I was raised as a mundane and find three strange people following a demon in a club. My best friend turned into a vampire and now he is a shadowhunter. You think this one guy you really like is your brother and then her turns out not to be and then you date and then he cheats on you. And, and." I just break out laughing.

He starts laughing too. Walking in and closing the door, he brings me over to my bed to sit down. "Are you okay?"

"I'm as okay as I can be," I reply. "I mean, it has been some rough couple of hours but I am here to start over."

"Okay. You need a new start, right?" I nod. "You and me, training, tomorrow. We are going to turn you into one of the best shadowhunters in the world."

"Thanks, that is just what I need."

In the morning, I took a quick shower which was refreshing. Then I quickly threw on a tank top and some basketball shorts. After I put my hair up into a ponytail, I head off. It took me about an hour, which was pretty disappointing, to find the training room. I should really ask for a tour around this place. Once I get there, I am in awe. This is way bigger than the one in New York. There are punching bags next to each other, racks of seraph blades and then more racks of various weapons.

I one of the punching bags more towards the center of the room. I get warmed up by punching one of the bags. Then, I remember some of the moves Jace showed me and start working on them. Going back and forth between those two for an hour, I finally leave to have some lunch.

I walk downstairs to see Lucas, Thomas, and Angelina.

"Hey Angelina," I greet.

"Oh come on. We have known each other for a day now. You can call me Angel now."

"Alright Angel. What is my schedule around here? By the looks of you guys you have already thought about how this is going to work with me here."

"I see that red-head has a brain." I look at Lucas.

"Yes, and red-head also has a name."

"Fine. _Clary_ has a brain, _and_ likes to snap back.

I roll my eyes. "As I was saying, what is on the agenda?"

"Well," starts Angel, "we usually go clubbing on the weekends. We also go demon hunting in the middle of the week/Wednesday."

Thomas cuts in, "And, since you are going to be somebody completely different by the time we are done with you, you are going to be training three hours a day for the first six months you are here"

I interrupt. "I already practiced for an hour today."

Thomas smiles. "I was actually counting on that. You will practice for one hour in the morning and in the afternoon we," gesturing to both of us, "will train for two hours."

"Anything else?" I ask.

Everybody shakes their heads at the same time. It was a little creepy. "Not really. You will soon be so used to us we will be family," says Angel.

"I hope so. I don't want another situation like my past to happen again."

"Trust me. It won't. As long as you stay with us it won't."

"Thanks."

I eat my lunch and make small-talk with the other shadowhunters. After I finish, I head back up to the training room and sit on the floor. I figure, I have nothing to do but wait. Might as well wait at a place where Thomas can see me.

When he walks in he stops immediately.

"Okay, did not expect that."

"Fair warning. Do not expect anything from me."

"Thanks. I'll take that into account."

I laugh. "So, what are we starting off with first?" I ask.

"I think we can start off with me learning what you know."

"That does not narrow down the subject."

"Well," he says, "how about sparring? No weapons."

I agree.

He walks into the middle of the room and helps me up. Almost immediately I get knocked back down.

"Rule One: Don't trust anybody except for your team."

"I thought you are my new team," I argue.

"In this situation I am not."

This time, I bolt to my feet and try to take him by surprise, but my motives were in vain. I got one hit before I was flipped back onto the floor.

"Rule Number Two: watch your opponent carefully. Who trained you back at home anyways?" he asks.

"Mainly my ex," I answer bluntly.

"Raziel. I thought that he is supposed to be one of the best shadowhunters in this generation. Now, I am not so sure."

I shrug. "Maybe I am just a lost case. That is why."

He laughs half-heartedly. "Now I know that he is not one of the best shadowhunters. The best wouldn't put someone with potential down. Especially like you."

"He didn't put me down," I argue.

"Oh. So now you are defending him?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. Maybe I want some dignity. He was my boyfriend after all. For a while actually."

"Sorry. Don't mean to offend you, but he does sound like an asshole. I don't see how you could have ended up with a guy like that."

"He was the one who introduced me to this world. He has been there the entire time." My voice grows softer with each word I utter.

He walks over to stand right next to me. I am shocked by his next move because he puts his arm around my shoulders.

"Well, now you will have us. Whether it is Angel, or Lucas, or Nathan, or even my mom. And you will especially have me. The entire time," he reassures.

I sigh. I know one thing for sure. I am going to be here for the long run.

 **There we go. I caught up on the word count to average about 1,500 words per chapter. This chapter might be the second or third longest item I have ever typed. The first ones are probably book reports. Thomas's last name was not off the top of my head. I had some assistance from "The Shadowhunter's Codex". The next chapter will jump a couple years. See you soon!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I do not own The Mortal Instruments. I only own the original characters I, myself created. I am going to say that Clary was seventeen when we left her because it was her sixteenth birthday in the first book. There are six books. Plus, the six months of space I put. If that math doesn't please you, this doesn't have to be exactly 2 years. The image is from** **.**

 **Fanlover (Guest): No promises. I can't reveal anything at this point but I see what you mean.**

 _ **2 Years Later**_

My name is Clarissa Morgenstern. You might know me as Clary or one of the best badass shadowhunters out there. Thomas said we were going to change me and we did. I am not a weak, new shadowhunter who barely knows how to fight and lets the others do the job. I am known for being the one who takes out the demons and guys who think I do not have a boyfriend. Morgenstern is a name that does not bring appreciation or fright but boldness. I owe it to my family for that.

One of my best friends' is a vampire named Katherine. She has long black hair that contrasts to her deathly white skin. She tends to come along on our hunts since most of them take place in the night.

Lucas and Nathan have become brothers to me. They always argue, but never go too far. Both of them tend to call me Adele, my middle name, instead of Clary. The pair of them have always been there for me. Instead of having a shoulder to lean on, I have several.

Nicolette has become like a mother figure to me. My mother will always have a place in my heart, but Nicolette watches out for me. She always warns me when we have guest coming and comes to me regarding advice the council might need whenever she visits Idris.

Angel and I are training to become Parabatai. We have always balanced each other out. She tends to stay calm when I feel the urge to run rampant. I fuel her energy when she wants to call it quits.

And finally, Thomas. We started dating three months after my arrival. I was hesitant at first but I knew I had to move on. After, four months of dating I knew I have fallen in love. He is sweet, courageous, strong, _hot_ , and can be compassionate. He always knows the exact thing that needs to be said. He never worries when I take on a couple demons by myself. And most of all, I know he loves me too.

-line break-

I look into the mirror before I head downstairs. I am wearing a white crop top that says _This Is the Lightest I Wear_ which is actually not lying. Unless, you include some dresses I own. I also have on so black skinny jeans that have rips on them, paired with heeled combat boots. I have grown a couple more inches so I am not freakishly short anymore. My fiery red hair now has a darker tint to it, which helps with blending into the dark. I put on some eyeliner and mascara.

Putting on my skull ring, I walk downstairs. I think about how I would have barely touched makeup or clothes like this in New York but this seems like my normal outfit when I am not hunting. It is not like it doesn't work anyways. Since I have been here, I have grown taller and grown into my body more. All of the training helps too. This is a great advantage for whenever I have to get a demon's attention, or even a male's when I spar at Idris.

Right when I walk into the kitchen, two arms are put around my shoulders.

"Good morning, Adele," says Nathan.

"Have you heard the good news?" asks Lucas.

"No, I haven't. What happened? What do you two do?" I question in an accusing voice.

"Hey!" they shout in unison. I laugh.

"No, we did nothing. We just get to go to Idris again. The council requested our company. Yours especially."

"Me?" I ask, bewildered. "Why me? How did they even find out I'm here."

Now both of them laugh. I swear, they could be twins. I have never seen parabatai's this close.

"Because you are known across the shadow world. You are either known as Valentine's daughter," Nathan lists them out while counting on his fingers, "the one who can create runes, the one who brought shadowhunters and the downworlders together, or one of the fiercest warriors out there," he finishes with a laugh. I notice that he doesn't answer my other question. He must not know then.

"I just bet they want to get rid of me so nobody shows them up," I joke.

"They would never do that or else the entire world would turn on them."

"Not unless they have law on their side," I reason. If they have law on their side they follow it.

"Now, now. Enough with the politics. We are not even in the Idris yet and you are already bombarding her with politics. If you want to talk, see if Katherine wants to come with us. After all, we are allowed to bring downworlders with us thanks to my lovely girlfriend." I smile and turn around.

Thomas walks up to us and motions for the boys to leave. Right when they leave, he sweeps down with a kiss. I immediately respond, moving my arms around his neck while he puts his hands on my waist. We had a make-out session for ten minutes. I start moaning into his mouth but pull away before we get to far.

"We can't do that right now. I still need to pack for Idris. What time are we leaving anyways?" I ask. I know if we both get into what we were about too, it would be harder to get ready for the trip.

He steps forward and kisses me again, gently this time. "I already packed for you. We are leaving at noon, so in 4 and a half hours. I think we have time."

Before I could reply, his lips descend on mine again. This time I don't argue, and wrap my legs around him as he pushes me against the wall. As I get lost in the moment, someone clearing their throat brings me back. We break apart and look up.

"Well, the least you two can do is get a room. By the angel, guys this is the kitchen. People eat here. Gross."

Leave it to Angel to walk in somewhere where she is not needed at any given time.

Thomas answers, "Sorry, Angel." He turns to me. "We should probably follow her suggestion and get a room." He winks while I roll my eyes.

"Oh, and Clary, Nicolette wants to speak with you in her office."

Thomas groans. "First Angel and now my own mother. Is everybody going to come against me today?" he asks, exasperated.

I stand on my toes and kiss him on the cheek. "Maybe later. Idris can be pretty busy for your mom anyways," I hint.

I walk into Nicolette's office. She looks up and smiles.

"Ah, Clary. There is something I have been meaning to talk about with you," she says.

"Okay, shoot."

"You are at the age where you do not need a guardian anymore. You don't necessarily have to stay at the institute. I just wanted to let you know that if that is the only thing keeping you here. You can leave. You don't owe us anything."

I walk over to her. "That is where you are wrong. I owe you guys everything. You took me in on a short notice. You took care of me and trained me. I would still be lost if it wasn't for you. I am staying here. This is where my family is. I have friends, a boyfriend, and a mom here." At that last comment she smiles. "I am not leaving. The only thing that would make me leave is if something drastic happens."

She nods. "I wanted to make sure you knew that you have the option."

"I'm nineteen. If I wanted leave I would've done it already."

With that I walk out. I look at the time. Three more hours. I still have time to kill. Now where is Thomas?

-line break-

We gather outside of the institute, since Katherine cannot enter. I draw the portal rune for Alicante. This time, we do have permission so we won't end up in the lake like I did.

Lucas and Nathan go first, claiming that they will protect us from whatever is on the other side. Then Nicolette takes hold of Katherine and steps through. The clave is still wary about downworlders so that is why she walks through with Nicolette. Finally, I hold the hands of Angel and Thomas and step through.

Once we step out, I look around. The inquisitor, Robert Lightwood, was waiting for us on the other side. I nod my head towards him.

"Clary. I have heard that you have visited this city several times yet that topic has failed to get to me. How is that?" he asks in a stern voice.

"We have only informed you that the London Institute comes here. We I started living with them. They did tell you that they have taken hold of a new ward. You never asked who it was," I answer, keeping my chin up.

"It is a good thing you are here, I have some people who wants to see you."

Oh, no. This can't be good.

Suddenly I hear doors open. "And it looks like they are here."

"Clary?"

I recognize that voice, and that is the last voice I want to hear.

 **Okay, here's the thing. I will be gone for a week, leaving tomorrow so I am posting this chapter today. Yay, a week without my laptop or good books near me. Just what I love. Not. Well, hope you don't mind waiting until at least Friday for a new post.**


	4. Chapter 4

I slowly turn around. Standing there are the lightwoods, Jace, and Simon. Right away Izzy rushes up to hug me. There is so much force in that hug that I almost fell down.

"By the Angel, Clary! Why did you leave? You left all of us! Jace was so brokenhearted he didn't leave his room for two months. Alec barely talked to anybody. Simon stopped coming to the institute for a while." While Izzy was ranting I eyed Jace suspiciously. I left all of them letters. And what did she mean by Jace never left his room?

"Izzy, give her room to breathe," says Alec. Once she lets go he gives me a gentle hug. I lean into him. He whispers, "Jace got rid of the letters. He was suspicious that you didn't write me one but he thinks you probably forgot. I kept mine hidden. We need to talk."

I look around to see if anyone is close enough to hear. No. I give a brief nod against him so nobody could see but he could feel it. He breaks away and then Simon comes up.

"You scared me when you left. No letter, no text, no nothing. You didn't even leave anything."

"I'm sorry," I say. "I wanted to leave right away. I was in a rush. I did not leave anything because I knew you would try to track me."

We separate. "I guess Jace would want to talk with you.

He walks back to stand with Izzy and I smile. It is good that they are still together. But, that smile is wiped off immediately when Jace steps forward for a hug. When I step back he walks towards me and I back up into Thomas. He puts his arms around me and gives Jace the death stare.

"Clary," he starts but gets cut off.

"We should probably get settled. Clary is going to stay with us at the Stormheart house, so we should probably get going." I look at him and he smiles.

"Bye guys. Talk to you soon."

-line break-

Once we get to the house, I head up to Thomas's room and he follows. He closes the door behind him and turns to me, sitting on the bed.

"I am going to assume that last guy advancing towards you was Jace." I silently nod, staring at the floor. "How dare he think that you would just apologize."

I shrug. "I don't know what he was thinking." I look up at him. "But I am thankful that you were there." He sits next to me and puts his arm around me.

"I will always be there. You should know that by now. And for some crazy reason that I'm not, Angel will." He pauses. "Speaking of Angel, whose room are you staying in? Angel's or mine?"

"Well," I pretend to think. "This is one of the rare occasions that Angel is with her family. I wouldn't want to intrude."

"Yeah, but soon you both will be Parabatai. You shouldn't be separated that much."

"Which is why we are training in the main training room tomorrow. So she would see me then."

He shakes his head. "I just don't want you getting in trouble with the clave."

"Trust me. This is fine. Sure, we are not as close as normal Parabatais but that is why we are still training. By next year we will be so close you won't get me on my own as much. That is why you should take this opportunity."

He looks like he just came up with something. "Clarissa Morgenstern, will you do me the honor of sharing a room with me in this wonderful house? It can even be the one we are occupying."

I laugh. "Of course Thomas Stormheart. Thank you for the invitation." We both laugh, enjoying the time we have together while it lasts.

-line break-

I have fallen asleep on Thomas's chest, yet I get shaken. I open my eyes to see Thomas staring down at me.

"What is it?" I ask groggily.

"My mom says one of you friends are at the door." Before I could ask he answers the question in my head. "And no, it is not Jace. I asked her for you."

I nod and slowly get up. I walk downstairs to open the door. I take a deep breath and open it to find Alec waiting on the other side.

"Hey," he says.

"Hey. What are you doing here?" I ask.

"I said I would talk to you didn't I." When I don't answer he continues. "Is there a place where we could talk privately?"

I nod and lead him away from the Stormheart house. We walk silently for a couple minutes until I lead him to the side of Luke's sister's house.

I turn around a cross my arms, waiting for him to talk.

"Look, I just thought you wanted to know what went on after you left."

I agree. "Yeah. I mean, I have always wondered. Who wouldn't?"

"Well, first Jace was hurt, but not as hurt as I would have thought if I didn't know what happened. He didn't date anybody else but I believe that was for Izzy's sake. She would have screamed if he did."

I raise an eyebrow at that and he explained. "She was so hurt that you left. I know you haven't been as close as normal friends are, but she was so upset that she started blaming herself for not being as close friends with you as you were."

"Well, it is not her fault. What about the letters I left everybody?"

"I strongly believe Jace disposed them so nobody could know that it was his doing that made you depart."  
I roll my eyes. "Wow, he is so arrogant. He cannot have anybody believing that he is who he really is." I list them out, counting on my fingers. "A cheater, an arrogant warrior, and a terrible brother for lying to you guys, even if you knew he was."

"He is an idiot alright. But, all of us got by if that is what you really want to here."

"Yes, that is. I am going to assume Izzy and Simon are still a thing?" I question. He nods and I continue. "What about Magnus?"

He hesitates before speaking. "Everybody pushed him into tracking you down but he didn't want to track you because he knew you left for a reason. He wasn't going to betray his Biscuit." He says the last sentence in a kid voice and I smile. Thank goodness he is still on my side. "He is still doing well. We broke up because we knew if we got too attached we would end up heartbroken because of his immortality," he explains.

Immediately I grow sad. I walk forward and put my hand on his shoulder. "Alec, I am so sorry," I manage.

He shrugs. "It was a year ago. He still helped out when he could. As long as it was not about finding you."

"Anything else?" I ask.

"Your mom and Luke. They were broken. Luke had the entire pack out searching for you. Your mom was at the institute almost every day. She almost became a shadowhunter again actually."

"I am surprised." And I truthfully am. She left the shadow world for me and she almost came back for me.

"What about you?"

"What do you mean?'

"What have you been doing? I heard there was a new fierce shadowhunter."

I smile. It took at a while to get that far but I did. "Yeah, that is me. How come you didn't hear my name out of that information?"

"We were not focused on gossip. Now that I think about that we should have. Instead we jumped form institute to institute. The first one we went to was Los Angeles because of Emma."

"That is why I went to London."

"How is London?"

"Great. It is beautiful except for the smog."

"How about the institute?"

"The best part. It is bigger than New York's. Nicolette is in charge and she is very nice. Lucas and Nathan can make anybody laugh. Katherine handles the vampires. It is reassuring knowing that she is my friend. Angel is my best friend there and we are training to become Parabatai."

He stops me there. "Parabatai? Do you know how much of a commitment that is? That is something you cannot end."

"I know that. We are friends. We will do just fine."

"Yeah, and what if you move. What if you come back to New York?"

Wait, what? He doesn't really mean that does he? "What are you talking about? Why would I go back to New York?"

He runs his hand through his hair. "Because we miss you. Yeah, Jace is a jerk and I doubt you would want to live in the same building as him but forget about him. You can come back to your family."

"This is my family. I am not leaving them. I refuse to leave them. I have brothers and friends and a boyfriend."

"And let me guess. You and your boyfriend refuse to let each other out of your sight," he says, his voice rising.

"Yes!" I shout. "You are correct. Being a Parabatai is a commitment. One I have to make."

"Simon is your best friend! Izzy wants to be your best friend! What about them?"

"You can't mean any of this. You guys have done just fine without me."

"We haven't. I know I said we haven't but I can tell everybody has a wall around them. Izzy is not as interactive as she normally is. Simon became a shadowhunter but all of his strikes are aggressive, as if it is to get anger out."

"And you? You seem just fine."

Instead of answering he crashes his lips down on mine.

 **Curve ball. Malec shippers I am so sorry but I told you guys that there would be plot twists. It is not like I don't ship Malec. I do but I wanted to experiment. Reviewers, I love you but you are making my life so complicated. One of you wants Clary to end up with Jace while another wants Thomas. Ahhhhhh! You are making this hard on me.**

 **I will be gone for more than a week for camping so, don't expect an update anytime soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

**I love most of your reviews. When I was away, I was complaining so much about not being able to check my emails for this kind of stuff. But,**

 **OneLoveOnly (Guest): What is wrong with a little bit of experimenting!? People normally do two people to make it interesting but I am thinking, what if it is three? That way there is more of a chance for the author (me) to throw plot twists. Sorry, but I told you there were going to be plot twists, so actually I am not sorry. Final thing. Alec could be bi. All we know from the books is that he is attracted to Magnus, but it never said he was only into men.**

 **I love the reviews. The more you write the faster I update. That will mean a lot because I go to school next week.**

He is kissing me. _He_ is _kissing_ me! I know this is wrong on so many levels, but like an idiot I kiss him back. Encouraged, he rests his hand on my hip and deepens the kiss. I don't decline and we stay like that for two minutes. Finally, my senses come back to me and I break us apart.

I gasp for air before I start. "I'm sorry, we can't." I keep my eyes to the ground, refusing to face him. "I ran away from New York because Jace cheated on me. London took me in. I cannot repay them like this. I especially cannot repay Thomas by doing the _exact same thing_ that botch did to me," I explain.

"Is that the only reason?" he asks, but I don't know if that is out of curiosity or from being hurt.

I open my mouth to respond but close it. Is that the only reason? I want so badly for it to be so but I am not sure. Am I afraid? Do I have feelings for Alec? Can I go back and face everything?

"I don't know," I whisper.

"What?"

"I do not know," I say sternly and honestly.

I look up at his face to see it turn to stone. "Well you are going to have to find out."

With that, he turns and walks away.

-line break-

I pace in Thomas's room. Why do things always have to happen to me? I could have easily stayed here if I did not talk to Alec. Then again, I got information and reassurance that everybody did fine without me.

Ugh. I am still planning on staying but this trip has made it harder for me to. I just hope that nothing else happens.

Too Late.

I hear a small scream from a distance, but with my runes on, it is clear to me.

I bolt to the main building, or as I know the one the children stayed in when Sebastian came here. When I enter I see a lot of people looking up. I glance up to see three children thirty feet up in the air on narrow poles.

I roll my eyes. Of course some children just _had_ to see if they could climb to the celling. Many young shadowhunters are like this but there is something off about this time. Before I can start to comprehend this, I walk to one of the edges of the room and begin to climb.

-line break-

 _ **Jace's POV**_

I sprint into the main building from hearing a scream, but someone beat me to it. I glance up to see dark red hair and a slim body climbing up to the three kids.

It took me a while to realize that it was Clary climbing up. She looks way different than when I knew her. When I knew her, she was a mundane who wanted to face the shadow world full on. So naive.

Sure, she was nice, and creative, and innocent, but it just was not enough. We went on dates but not many. Besides, I missed the feeling of having girls fawning over me. Being in a relationship put an end to most of it. It is not my fault that Clary walked in on me and, wait. What was her name again? Well, whoever it was, it was not my fault.

Now that Clary looks hot, way better at her job, is well-known, and is not a virgin, judging on the fact that she always gives that guy she is with looks, I wouldn't mind having her back. We would be the most powerful/popular couple.

It would definitely make me more favorable to the other shadowhunters. Yeah, I am still known for being a strong shadowhunter and being one of the ones to defeat Valentine and Sebastian. Being back with Clary, would be a huge upgrade for me. Besides, I have this theory that girls are more into guys that are taken.

I watch as she attempts to balance on the bars to get one of the children down. The only thing is, there is something wrong about this situation. I climb up after her once she puts a child on the ground.

 _ **Clary's POV**_

I make my way across one of the beams. My balance has improved over the years, and I am thankful. I get the girl's attention and she glances at me, yet what I see makes me stumble a little.

The majority of her eyes are pitch black. Promptly, it disappears, and she reaches for me. I grab her and make my way back down to place her among the other shadowhunters who are currently watching. I roll my eyes. Even if we are part angel, our human selves enjoy entertainment.

I climb back up for the other two. There is one in the middle of the room and one near the edge. I hear movement behind me and quickly glance back to see Jace.

I don't have time to argue with him, so I direct him to the one closest to the wall on the other side of the building. He nods and moves around me to get the little boy. Once there is some distance between both of us, I start moving towards the other boy.

As I get closer, I see that the boy is blonde and light-skinned, but his eyes had no light whatsoever. Unlike the girl's, his eyes were entirely black, like a black hole.

He turns towards me and stands straight, like he is not afraid of falling at all. What frightens me most of all is when he looks me dead in the eye, and the darkness does not go away.

"Clarissa Morgenstern. It has been a while since we have talked, but I felt like this was the perfect time to talk.

I swear I have never seen this child before. I tilt my head. "Who are you? I don't believe we have met before."

He shakes his head and laughs. "Not like this. You might have recalled killing my son though. Pity, he was such a good one."

The thought strikes me like a slap to the face. "Lilith? I thought you would have left us alone for a couple hundred more years. You should go take a break and mourn for your son in fact." It hurts to talk about Sebastian like this, but this is the only idea that comes into my mind.

He, or should I say she now, I don't know, shakes his head. "What way is better than revenge? I bet my son would have agreed with me on that one. So this is how it is going to go. Each week this is going to happen to a shadowhunter in training. One that is under aged, just to make sure the results turn out positive." Lilith takes a walks towards me. I stay as still as I can. "Each week, a child shall face the same result my son faced death."

And with that the kid's eyes turn light blue, and he loses his footing. I leap towards him as he drops and grab his forearm. Sadly, the momentum drags me along with him. Before I tumble over the edge, a pair of hands takes hold of my hips. The strong arms pulls me and the boy back up. Once I am back on the poles and secure the kid as well, I look up to see Jace's eyes staring into mine.

I quickly move around him and towards one of the walls so that I can climb down with the child. Once we make it to the floor, I stare up at Jace.

Why would Lilith choose right now to take her revenge?

How did Jace know I was going to fall and got to me before I did?

Are both of these questions connected somehow?

 **Like I said, school is starting on Monday for me so the more you review, the faster I update. Is anybody excited for the new Harry Potter book coming out? I know I am. I am trying to see how much I can reread the series before the book comes out. See you hopefully soon.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry I have not updated sooner. It is only the second week of school and I have not caught a break from homework. I mean, who does that? It is freaking eighth grade! I started this on Wednesday but didn't finish and did a little bit every other day. Another reason is that I am not necessarily motivated. Tsk tsk, I don't have many reviews. The visitor count is declining tremendously for each chapter. Not as much confidence for me to write more chapters. For those who stayed (which is obviously you because you are reading this right now) here is chapter six.**

Yesterday was a lot. I have witnessed an old friend kissing me and someone who I thought was a bitch saved me. Granted, being a shadowhunter I wouldn't have died from that fall but I would have seriously gotten hurt.

"Hey!"

I look out of Thomas' window to see who called out. I look down to see Simon outside, frantically waving his hands.

"What are you doing? You look like you are trying to land a crashing plane."

He stares at me for a second before speaking. "I am trying to get your attention. I was your best friend and we haven't hung out in years. We desperately need to fix that."

Even though he has ascended, his personality has not changed. His muscles are more obvious than before, but he still makes anything serious into a joke.

Once I remember my plans for the day, I immediately feel bad. "Sorry, but I have plans for today."

He tilts his head. "What kind of plans?"

"I'm training with Angel today. We need to work synchronizing our moves if we want be a good Parabatai pair."

His shoulders start to slump and his face vaguely shows disappointment, but I try to pretend I didn't see it. "You have spent the past two years together while we have known since when we were kids."

"We are trying to become Parabatai. We need to train. Besides, I have not spent time with her lately."

"Have not spent time with her? Really? It is not like you have spent time with any of us. Izzy, Jace, Alec, and I have not obtained any of your precious time. What about us?"

I attempt to not flinch. That is true, but I have been trying to avoid Jace and Alec. Jace is confusing, and Alec just hurts whenever I look at him. Besides, you might count the talk and kiss with Alec spending time.

"What about tomorrow?" I try. Hopefully he will take it.

"Tomorrow we are going out as a group, unless you want to join us. I know how much you hated shopping for stuff. Especially clothes."

"Yes, yes!" Right away I want to take back what I said. Do I really want to go out with all of them?

"Really? Are you sure about that?" I am about to reply with my answer before he continues. "Because I know how we are always your second thought after your friends in London."

It takes a moment before I answer, "Yes, I am certain."

"Great. See you tomorrow."

He leaves while I slump against the side of the window. Great. Now I have to deal with more of this. How long are we staying here again?

I hear shuffling behind me and I turn around to see Thomas.

"What are you doing here? I though-"

"I am leaving right now to go see Angel, if that is what you were hoping for."

He exhales. "Good. To be honest, I thought she was going to explode soon if I kept you from her."

I laugh. "It wouldn't be your fault. Besides, I have had a busy two days so far. How long are we staying here anyways?" I ask. I need time to escape the New Yorkers.

"The entire month."

"What!"

He rubs the back of his neck, embarrassingly. "Yeah. The council still wants to meet with you next week and some of us thought we needed a break from England."  
"But _they_ are here," I argue.

"Don't you think I know that?! I just thought we needed a break from the institute. You don't have to be with them or talk about them every minute of the day. Just ignore them. You can easily use any of us as an escape route."

I ponder over what he said. What if I don't want to ignore all of them? Simon was my best friend before I even knew I was a shadowhunter. Izzy, no matter how frightening she can be, was still my friend years ago. Shouldn't I be able to give them a chance to learn why I left before I leave again?

"I have to go. Don't want to keep Angel waiting on me now would we?" I say instead, trying to get away.

He waves his hand. "Go. But we need to talk later."

So I go.

-line break-

"So, what has happened lately?"

"Nothing much," I reply to Angel.

There is a pause. "Are you sure. As future Parabatai, I should have the right to know what is going on. There is no way the answer is nothing if they are here." Right away I knew who she meant by they.

I sigh. "Not nothing but nothing much. I have talked to some of them. I am hanging out with them tomorrow.

"Why?"

"I promised Simon. We haven't seen each other in two years. We were best friends before this. I don't want to shut him out again."

In a shaky voice, Angel replies, "You haven't seen any of them in two years. The point for leaving was not to see any of them ever again. Remember? You left so you could shut everybody out. I don't see how this is an excuse for spending a _day_ with them. Not an hour, a day."

I inhale and explain. "Simon was my best friend. When I left, he was a mundane and now he is a shadowhunter. I missed a milestone in his life. I just need a little bit of time with him, to catch up. He was one of the only friends I had before I found out about my true heritage."

"I thought I was your best friend." Before I could speak, she continued. "All that has been on your mind lately is that group. I have to have a partner that can stay focused, not be easily distracted by emotions." My heart breaks at her next chosen words. "I am sorry Clary, but I withdrawal the request for you to be my Parabatai."

And then she walks away.

-line break-

Thomas paces across the room.

"I am sure you guys will make up eventually. This is not the first time Angel has gotten like this, right?" he asks, though I can sense the concern in his voice.

I shake my head, trying to restrain my tears. "She has never gone this far. Only as far as saying that she needs space for a day or two. Not canceling our plans for being Parabatai."

Then, Lucas and Nathan bursts through the door.

"Hey Adele," greets Nathan.

There is a pause of silence before another speaks.

Lucas asks, "What is wrong. It looks like you are about to burst into tears."

When I look away, trying my best to conceal the emotions he walks over and puts an arm on my shoulders.

"Sorry about the straight-forwardness. What happened?"

I bury my head into his shoulder while Thomas explains the situation.

"She will come eventually. There is no way she is serious about this," reassures Nathan.

But for some reason, it does seem like she is serious. I am worried, no terrified, that I will not get her back. But for now, all I can do is nod and pretend that nothing is drastic.

"Ok, good. Now, let's go shopping. There are not many stores here but there are still a few good ones," suggests Lucas.

"Sorry, but I can't. I am going tomorrow with Simon, Izzy, Jace, and Alec."

Nathan lifts an eyebrow. "You are actually going to go with them, by yourself."

"Yeah, it is not like they are dangerous or anything."

Thomas mumbles something under his breath that I didn't catch.

"What did you say?" I interrogate.

"I didn't say anything."

I roll my eyes. "Don't forget that I am you girlfriend." _Am I really anymore_? "I can tell if you are lying or not."

"And that is one of the reasons why I love you," he says quickly.

"Don't change the subject. What did you say?"

He sighs. "Are you sure they are safe?"

Instead of retaliating, I walk away because honestly, I don't know.

 _Are they dangerous?_

 **Again, sorry for the week delay. School started up again and I am taking high school classes in middle school. I am personally scared if right now seems like a struggle. I am not ready. I will try to update next week but if not, do not fret. I am not quitting this fic.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Bonjour. I still haven't gotten any reviews except for three. Thank you Maggie, jordanyovk, Iluvuall for the reviews. The goal is for 300 people to 'visitors' to see this story. It probably won't happen but I aim high. We are totally not there. I apologize for not updating in the past 3-4 weeks, and I will not pin this completely on school. I have been busy but when I have free time I choose to take advantage of that free time and relax instead of typing 1,500 words. Hopefully, I haven't fallen out of the swing and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

Once I wake up, I just want to disappear underneath the covers. Why does everything happen to me of all people? Right away I regret asking that. It isn't _that_ bad. All I have to do is spend an entire day with the friends that I left years ago. Nothing bad about that. Except for the fact that I left them, without telling as well, never contacted them, never told them where I went, and on top of that might have made the biggest mistake of my life. I just can't figure out it could be the biggest one.

I groan as I get up and change into black leggings and a dark green crop top. I throw on a leather jacket over that and start towards the Lightwood house.

As soon as I knock, Simon opens the door and breaks into a grin.

"Hey, I thought you weren't going to come for a minute."

I tilt my head. "Why is that?" I ask, even though I know the exact reason why.

He shakes his head after a bit of hesitation. "Never mind. Come in. Everybody wants to see you again."

I take one slow step into the house, and walk past him. It has been years since I stepped into this house. The last time I was in here was about a month or two before I left. We all came back to Idris to visit Robert Lightwood. Ever since he became the Inquisitor, he has been living in the shadowhunter country. I remember the laughs, the smiles, and the adventures. Little did I know was that I would be in this position.

Simon calls everybody and I freeze. Is it too late to turn back? _No,_ I tell myself, _you are too strong to be frightened by the thought of them._

Izzy is the first one to entire the room. She comes over to hug me before backing up to let Jace see me. I simply nod in his direction before turning my direction towards Alec. I notice a small smile form before it disappears. It is good to know that I didn't screw things over completely with us.

"Well," I start, breaking the tension, "what are we doing first?"

Of course it is Izzy who answers, eager to get the day started. "Shopping of course! There is a rumor that there is going to be a ball, or a festival, or something. We need to get something and the boys need to get out more." When those words pop out of her mouth her eyes are met with heated glares.

Jace shrugs. "I don't mind the shopping Izzy, as long as it is not _just_ clothes. Not that I don't mind the modeling and all," he adds the last part with a wink. I just ignore him.

I say my piece. "I agree, not just clothes. I don't need to bore myself looking at things that just don't work for me."

I can feel Jace's eyes looking me over. "Clary, I think we can all say that anything works for you now."

I just laugh it off. The truth is that I know that. Clothes are not as boring to me anymore, yet I don't want to have people look at me all day in certain ways.

"Let's just go. We can decide what else there is to do on the way to the shops," Alec says. Good thing too.

"Alright, let us leave then."

-line break-

"How about this one?" Izzy holds up a short red dress.

I give a tiny smile. "Sorry Izzy but that dress is more for you. Besides, a red that bright won't go well with my dark red hair."

She sighs. "You are impossible. Everything is either too short or too bright."

I relent. "Fine, I will lighten up on the length, but if you get me something that is mainly lave I will shove it down your throat."

She smiles, nods, and scampers away. I should not have agreed to do that.

"You know, I always feel bad about you girls."

I turn around to see Alec staring at me.

"How so?" I ask.

"You always have to find the perfect dress that goes with your hair, make-up, skin tone, and one that makes you confident while we just find a suit."

I sigh. "I know right. It is very complicated compared to you guys." I pause. "So, what have you been doing since the last time we talked a couple days ago?"

All the joy drained from his face as he answered. "Nothing much. Mainly just listening to Jace plotting to get you back, and listening to him saying he still wants to know why you left."

That confirms my suspicions about him keeping up the charade then. "Plotting?" I simply ask.

He tilts his head to the side. "I'm debating whether or not to tell you what he is plotting. I need a little amusement in my life once in a while."

"If you need amusement just look at my life. That will give you a good laugh."

His mouth opens to speak but he is interrupted by Izzy coming over, holding up three dresses.

"Here," she says simply. I roll my eyes and head towards the fitting rooms to try them on.

The first one is a dark blue dress. The straps are off the shoulders and silver. The skirt is loose and it shows that this is meant for if the party was a ball. I don't even leave to see if it works. Taking it off, I grab the second one.

The next dress is long as well, which surprises me because I thought Isabelle was eager to get short dresses. Dark green is the color, and there is not much to it. It is fancy but it doesn't have a humongous skirt or anything like that. I have to admit it does look nice with my hair.

I walk out to see the Lightwood siblings waiting for me.

"That one looks really nice on you, Clary," says Izzy, looking excited of course.

Alec nods. "I'm going to have to agree with her on that one. You look beautiful."

I briefly nod and quickly turn around to hide my blush. I head back to try on the third one.

The last one was black with gold accents. It was like a gold design seeped through the dress, spreading through the entire article of clothing. It was shorter, with long sleeves but it would still do. I peak my head out for assistance of zipping me up and the only person that was sitting out there was Jace.

When I raise an eyebrow at him he answers, "Isabelle is determined to find Alec something 'new.'" Why does Izzy always have to do this at the worst time? "Do you need any help?" he asks.

I will not let him bother me. I have to get used to being around him eventually. "Yes, can you zip me up?"

He smiles as he walks over. Slowly, he zips up my dress while I count the seconds for how long it would take for him to finish. Then, his head sneaks over my shoulder and kisses me.

 _Smack!_

Who wouldn't expect that from him? I certainly did. That is one reason why I had so much pleasure in slapping him. He is so predictable.

When we both come out of the fitting room Izzy and Alec sits on the other side, waiting for us.

Alec looks, well I can't say what is going through his head. His features are unreadable. Izzy on the other hand looks excited and confused at the same time.

"Clary! That dress looks amazing on you. That one should be the one you should get."

I nod, keeping my eyes on Alec, looking for any change at all. "I will come by later to get it, we should probably head out.

I quickly change out of my dress, grab Alec's arm, and leave the store, dragging him out with me.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello. I have good news. I am even more determined to make this a great fanfiction because my friend has found it and is now reading it as well. Another friend is trying to find this and I am trying really hard to keep it away from him. Without further ado, chapter eight.**

Once we get outside, I burst into a run, and I can hear Alec right on my trail. After a few sharp turns to make sure no one else is trailing us. I come to a complete stop, and I turn around to find Alec not exactly heaving, but catching his breath.

"You have definitely changed over the past two years. Now what was that all about?"

I reply, "Well, Jace thought it was a good idea to kiss me while he was helping me zip up."

Right away he replies, "Then why did you let him into the same proximity of you? That was certainly not the wisest decision you have made in your life."

I shrug. "I was expecting him too." Before Alec cuts me off I hold up a finger to stop him. "It felt really good to slap him."

Two seconds later, he dies laughing. It's actually quite nice to hear it since it is not heard often from someone quite as serious. Simon on the other hand, laughs at least three times a day. Or at least he did when we were best friends.

I tilt my head. "I am glad you are enjoying this as much as I did, but your laughter is going to make it easier for them to find us."

He transforms back into his serious self. "We should probably beat them to it then. We would have to stay with them for the rest of the day anyways."

I sigh. "I better get a new weapon after this for going through all of this trouble."

"This is nothing. If you think this is trouble than you most definitely have changed. And don't you still draw? Or have you grown completely out of that habit?"

I feel like I was about to collapse. I haven't drawn something in a professional style in years, and I haven't even notice.

"Let's just get back to the group," I say instead.

-line break-

For the rest of the day, I keep my distance between myself and the group. Simon was our main barrier. We enter a weapon's shop, yet nothing appeals to me as much as I hope. Walking back I do conclude that the day was not as bad as I expected. I did teach Jace a lesson, got a chance to catch up a tiny bit, and even got to see Alec laugh.

It turns out that Alec and Simon both specialize in the bow now, and usually compete against each other. Jace is still skilled in demon hunting and Isabelle is still awful at cooking. Some things never change.

Another piece of information I got out of them was one about my parents. It turns out Mom and Luke is coming to Idris next week, though they have not been informed about my whereabouts recently. I have a feeling that it will be bittersweet.

Besides that, nothing really exciting occurred, much to my disappointment. I can't deny the tiny feeling in me that was hoping for more to happen. I guess it just shows how much I changed.

And there I go again.

Ever since Alec told me about how I changed, I have been bringing it up in my mind over and over again. I have become stronger, and I understand more about the world. I am trained better and I have opened up to my friends. There is still something bothering me though. I haven't done anything artistic in a long time. I have not gone to school in forever, even though tutoring was part of our training. I have not even made contact with a bloody mundane! The most I have done was flirt with a couple so a demon would notice me, making it easier to lure him into his demise.

Snap. Snap. Snap.

My head shoots up to see Simon snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"Are you okay, Clary? You have been spacing out almost every time I look at you now."

I smile reassuringly. "Sorry. I guess I have been thinking about a lot."

A mischievous grin passes over his face, frightening me. "I know how we can solve that."

Before I can object, he picks me up and throws me over his shoulder. I scream and yell on instinct. He runs around who knows where with me dangling on him. Izzy is telling him to put me down, Jace is laughing, and Alec looks like he is trying so hard not to laugh. Finally, I come to my senses and swing most of my body weight around, knocking him off his balance. He tumbles to the ground and I roll out of his grasp, gasping for air because of myself laughing and the wind that I lost.

"Damn," he chokes out after catching his own breath.

I just smile and wink before I keep on walking. Izzy catches up while the guys help Jace back up.

"This is why I can't wait to go home. Jace seriously needs somebody to put him in his place," she rambles.

I stop in the middle of my tracks. "What do you mean you can't wait to get home?" I question.

She hesitates, realizing her mistake. "Well," she pauses, "I meant that when we all go home. Together. Clary, New York is where your family is. Your mother and Luke is in New York. Its where all of us are. Clary, we really miss you."

I turn towards her, my glare hard yet I am trying my best to not lose my cool. "Isabelle, do you know why I left in the first place?" I try. She shook her head. I really don't want to ruin her image of one of her brothers for her, but I have to. "Jace was cheating on me. I left, with only one person knowing why. I ended up in London, where I met my true family. They took me in, gave me many brothers and sisters. I have a boyfriend that has never defied me. I don't deserve any of this yet I have it, and I am going to hold to it as long as possible."

I didn't realize I was looking away until I finished. I look back at Izzy, yet she is backing away. Slowly she speaks. "What has happened to you? Whatever venom or something that has entered you veins, you can tell me. There is no way Jace cheated on you. He loved you and I am pretty sure he still does."

No it is my turn to disagree. "He cheated on me, I heard it and if you really don't believe me ask Alec. He was the only other person that knew what happened,"

Now that I have mentioned Alec, her anger spikes up. "Do not bring Alec into this lie!" she shouts. "I know my brother like I know my own mind. You should know that he would never lie to his family! Why would he lie to me if it were true? Have you ever thought about that?"

I have thought about that. I still do not understand why he lied for me. Especially since he had two years to tell his own family and he still kept the secret from his own sister and parabatai. I shake it off like I always do and move on.

Slowly, I walk forwards, towards Izzy. "Isabelle, I am not lying. If you feel like I am, all you have to do is ask your brother. He is all the proof I have, but he should be enough. After all, he wouldn't lie to you."

After that, I turn to see the boys walking towards me. Jace looks up and I bolt.

-line break-

At night, in Thomas' room, there is tapping on the window. I look up to see Simon and Jace. I gaze back at Thomas, then slowly remove myself from his arms. I motion for them to get down before I open the window and climb down after them. Silently, I open the window, sneak out, and look back one more time to make sure Thomas is still fast asleep.

Once I hit the ground, I look up and see both of them staring at me.

"What did you do to Isabelle?"

 **HEYYYYYYY. I know this is delayed. I actually wrote this weeks ago but I did not finish. With high school classes in middle school and other activities, I have been busy. Did anybody notice my Hamilton reference? "I know my sister like I know my own mind." I am sorry if you hate it but I am Hamilton trash, so you guys have to suffer through it. I will hopefully see you soon.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Dear Readers, be happy that I have no intention for leaving this unfinished because I really do not feel like writing right now. However, if I put this off, I do know that it will be weeks before there is another update so I am doing this now. School is stressful and on top of that I have other activities I have to worry about. I hope this chapter is worthy enough for your reading.**

Of course they automatically think it is all my fault. It is not like I did not expect it. I just did not expect them to come to Thomas's house, especially in the middle of the night. The thing that shocks the most is that Simon seems like he does not even consider the fact that Izzy could be overreacting or the problem could not be me.

"I did not do anything to Izzy," I reply with my arms crossed.

Simon starts towards me and I back up until my back hits the wall. Jace stops him and spaces us.

"I thought you were my friend!" he yelled. Jace clamped his mouth shut while I looked around to see if we woke anybody up. When the coast is clear, Jace slowly takes his hand off of Simon.

I blow the hair out of my face before starting. "If we were friends, you would not automatically accuse me for doing something to Izzy," I fire back.

He is almost on top of me before Jace shoves his way in between us. "You did something to her and I know it," he accuses.

"I did not do anything wrong!" I am starting to get tired of this. "All I did was tell Izzy the truth!"

By the way Jace stiffens, I can tell he has a feeling which truth I am talking about.

"All I did was tell her that Jace cheated on me and Alec knew for the past two years!" I blurt out in a rush. While they are both paralyzed from shock, I bolt.

And I did not need to look back to know that they were chasing me.

I did not care at this point whether they were chasing me or not. All I care about is getting far away from this place. Thomas could have walked out at any minute and that would not make my situation with my friends any better.

I run to the field, the space that separates the city from the mansions. I calmly sit down and wait for the boys to catch up. They do not take that long thankfully. I still need to get back to Thomas before he wakes.

They run up to me. Both of them look infuriated and confused at the same time.

Jace calmly sits down in front of me. Simon hesitates and then copies his action.

Jace sighs then buries part of his in his hands. "That is what you told Izzy?" he asks quietly.

I nod while Simon lays down on his back. "There is no way. You are lying. That is why Izzy is mad at you, because you lied to her," he reasoned.

I disagree immediately. "I did _not_ lie to her. You have all the proof you need here." I look over to Jace, though he keeps his face tilted down.

"Jace, you expressions needs to change. You are actually making me believe her," says Simon.

"How is Alec?" I ask.

"What does that have to do with anything!?" he shouts.

"Is he still reliable? Do you think he would protect the family at any costs?" I question.

"Alec would do anything for the family! He has always been there for everybody! Even me! Unlike you, he cares about us!" he shouts.

"Oh yeah!' I fire. "I guess he still considers me as part of the family then because he has lied for me all of these years!"

A dumbstruck look strikes across his face before he argues, "You are such a liar. He would never do that to us!"

"Simon," I calm down a tiny bit and glance at Jace. "Jace cheated on me. That is why I left. The only person who knew this was Alec. I left letters for everybody, but somebody seems to have disposed of them," I say.

There is a moment of silence. Simon looks like he is trying to process the information while Jace still will not make any eye contact with me.

"Jace, please tell me right now. Is she telling the truth at all?" begs Simon.

Jace looks up at Simon with sad eyes, something that I never thought I would see again.

"Simon, I am sorry, I truly am," he says in a raspy voice.

Simon slowly gets up to his feet. He takes one step away before turning to us to address us once more. "I am going to see how Izzy is doing. This trip has been on her so far." He takes a couple more steps before speaking again. "Jace, this is hard to process but do not let it stop you from coming home. I know you, and I also know that Izzy would like both her brothers to be with her." With that, he walks off into the night, heading towards the one he will always be loyal too.

-line break-

As I sneak back into bed next to Thomas, I ponder over recent events.

Jace looked so heartbroken when Simon found out the truth. How is that even possible? They were never really that close when I lived in New York City. At one point I am pretty sure they hated each other. Now it seems like they have this brotherly connection. Simon really looked like he was betrayed.

And even though he learned Jace cheated on his former best friend. Even though Alec had lied to him all these years. Even though I yelled at him for not understanding. Even though he has a high chance of containing guilt for not believing in me, he still goes back to Isabelle. That I find remarkable.

Yet, I do not know if anybody will ever truly do that for me.

There is just something about being single. The independence and freedom coursing through your body. The feeling of not having to rely on somebody. You start doing things by yourself that you normally would not do unless you want a real taste of that independence.

But still. The thought of someone always having your back is relaxing in some kind of way.

Thomas, he was one of the first friends I made when I moved to London. Right away, he tried making a connection with me. He is a very sweet and protective person. He made it where I went from being heartbroken, to having a life again.

But Jace was the one I originally fell in love with. He was the one who lead me into this world filled with adventure, and why I am what I am today. All I did was grow a curiosity for the man with the blond curls. He was my gate to the world of angels and demons.

However, taking recent events into account, I cannot forget about Alec. He was my shoulder I leaned on during my final days at the New York Institute. He was the one that kept my secret from his own family for the past couple of years. He was the one that even after our time apart, has still contained a liking for me. He brings the elements of sarcasm, kindness, and protectiveness together and into play. I think that is why he can never leave my mind.

These thoughts keeps me from shutting my own eyes to sleep for the evening. As my frustration of my prevention from rest grows, so does my curiosity for these men. How can three totally different men influence my life so much?

I do not know.

I do not know anything anymore. My mind travels to my friends, the ones who can help me in this situation. It is time to make amends.

It is time to live up to the name this world has made for me, Clary Morgenstern.

My eyes drift shut with resolution in my head.

 **I swear, I start a chapter and just leave it for about two or three weeks. I am such an awful person. I hope you guys had a nice Halloween. Just remember, IT IS NOT CHRISTMAS YET. We still have Thanksgiving to get through. To make up for this, I will try to have a new post by Monday but we should know by now that I cannot promise this. Who do you think the friends are?**


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